Pesticide regulation has become a topic of increasing interest in recent years, owing to rising public concerns about residues on foods, in drinking-water wells, and damage to wildlife. Public-opinion polls and political responses to incidents like the controversy over Alar suggest that demand for government intervention to protect public health and the environment from pesticides is high. Pesticides are toxic by design; survey evidence indicates that they are perceived as riskier than other, more common pollutants like auto exhaust (see, for example, Horowitz). Pesticide residues are not easily observable (short of laboratory analysis), making averting strategies by individuals extremely difficult and/or excessively costly to implement.